Mark Bittman called this recipe, ‘Ligurian fish and potatoes‘; it was the basis for the one I’ve been using for years.  It’s a classic, or at least I think so, for its ability to showcase, mostly unadorned, the taste of a superb wild fish, as well as for the ease with which it can be prepared.

This time I added some rather flashy micro greens in lieu of the parsley specified in Bittman’s original recipe.

• one 13- or 14-ounce cod fillet from American Seafood Company at the Union Square Greenmarket, prepared along the lines of a recipe from Mark Bittman which I came across almost 12 years ago: I cut the fillet into two pieces and laid them both on a bed of coarse sea salt and completely covered them with more salt, before setting them aside while I sliced, to a thickness of less than 1/4 inch about 12 ounces of small German Butterball potatoes from Tamarack Hollow Farm, scattered them in a baking pan with a scant tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cooked them for 30 minutes or so in a 400º oven, or until tender, meanwhile thoroughly immersing the cod in several changes of water and drying the two pieces before placing them in the pan on top of the potatoes with a little oil drizzled on top and some freshly-ground pepper scattered over them as well, the pan returned to the oven for 8 to 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the cod), garnished with ‘Hong Vit‘ micro Asian radish greens from Windfall Farms
• a handful of the very last of the curly winter kale from Tamarack Hollow farm, sautéed in olive oil in which one medium clove of garlic from Keith’s Farm, split, had first been allowed to sweat for a few minutes
• the wine was a French (Languedoc/Pays d’Oc) white, Demoiselles de Castelnau Cuvée L’Etang Picpoul de Pinet 2014
• the music was David Matthews’ Piano Concerto Opus 111